TIME MAAGEMENT- TIP #5

5. It takes too much time to become productive.

Belief: I don't have the time to set up a system. I've got too much to do.

Reality: You can save one to two hours a day by implementing a system to manage your information—a significant return on the initial time investment.

According to some statistics, workers typically spend two to three hours a day in email and 60 minutes a day finding and filing information. After setting up an information-management system, they still spend one to two hours a day in email but spend just 10 minutes a day finding and filing information—a savings of nearly two hours a day, or almost 12 weeks a year!

Take a moment and consider the time you spend:

• Finding and filing information.
• Writing a to-do list and then rewriting it a week later on another list, and then another.
• Opening an email, reading it, closing it, and then coming back to the same email to read it again tomorrow.
• Going to the store and realizing you don’t know, for example, the model of the hardware you need to pick up.

These are just a few examples of how we waste time by not having a way to coordinate scheduling, allocate resources, consolidate communication, and store and access information. Take the time to set up your system. You can't afford not to.